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US Senate confirms Scott Pruitt as Trump's head of EPA

Pruitt has been criticized for his climate change skepticism. Conservatives heralded him as a modernizing force for the Environmental Protection Agency, but Democrats fear he will undo climate protection regulations.

In a victory for the beleaguered Trump administration, the US Senate voted Friday to confirm Scott Pruitt as head of the very agency he sued over a dozen times in his former role as Attorney General of the oil-rich state of Oklahoma.

The 52-46 vote fell largely along party lines, with only one Republican Senator, Susan Collins of Maine, casting a dissenting vote and two blue-dog Democrats from states with large energy sectors, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, voting in favor.

Pruitt's confirmation came after Democrats held an all-night speaking session on the Senate floor in an attempt to hold up the vote until later in February, when some 3,000 emails between the former state attorney general and fossil fuel companies are due to be reviewed and released by an Oklahoma judge.

A divisive new agency leader

Environmental activists protest Trump cabinet nominees

Republicans and conservatives celebrated the vote, claiming the new EPA head would reform and modernize the environmental agency.

"Pruitt has demonstrated time and again his unwillingness to accept the science of climate change and his contempt for the laws protecting our air and drinking water," top Senate Democrat Dick Durbin said.

In a letter sent to Senators earlier in the week, more than 700 former EPA officials called on Congress to oppose Pruitt's confirmation, saying that he had "shown no interest in enforcing environmental laws."

During his time as Oklahoma's attorney general, Pruitt sued the EPA over a dozen times on behalf of energy executives looking to reverse environmental regulations under the Obama administration.

Trump and the EPA have already butted heads

Deregulation ahead

Trump has already signaled he will get rid of Obama's Clean Power Plan, which targets carbon emission reductions from coal and natural gas power plants, and some climate advisors believe the President could pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement. He is likely to issue executive orders as early as next week that reorganize the EPA and dismantle federal regulation.

Prior to Pruitt's confirmation, Trump and EPA workers had already collided over budget freezes and the Republican President's attempt to stifle the agency's social media communications. The orders led to the creation of alternative social media accounts as government scientists resisted the attempts to lame the agency.

cmb/kl (Reuters, dpa, AFP)

Trump's fossil administration

Activists ready for a fight

As climate deniers are poised to serve in prominent positions of Trump's administration, environmentalists have taken to the streets amid worries they could roll back environmental protections. Trump himself, who initially called climate change a "hoax," eventually conceded "some connectivity" between humans and climate change, and has now said he is keeping an "open mind" on the issue.

Trump's fossil administration

Scott Pruitt: Fox in charge of the henhouse

Pruitt is poised to become the head of the Environmental Protection Agency - an agency he repeatedly sued since becoming Oklahoma Attorney General in 2011. He opposes the Clean Power Plan, aimed at reducing carbon emissions. He has also blocked implementation of the Clean Water Rule, which expanded protection for bodies of water and requires polluters to clean up wastewater.

Trump's fossil administration

Rex Tillerson: From big oil straight to politics

Secretary of State nominee Tillerson worked for petroleum giant ExxonMobil for more than 40 years. During his confirmation hearing, when pressed, he acknowledged climate change risks. He said the increase in greenhouse gases is "having an effect," but added "our ability to predict that effect is very limited." ExxonMobil is accused of covering up climate research over several decades.

Trump's fossil administration

Rick Perry: Friend of fossil fuels

Environmentalists are concerned that as Secretary of Energy, the former Texas governor will boost oil and gas rather than focusing on renewables. In the past, Perry said he intended to axe the whole energy department. He has called global warming a "contrived phony mess." He's likely to support the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. However, Texas did increase wind power production under Perry.

Trump's fossil administration

Ryan Zinke: Climate change waffler

Zinke, an ex-Navy SEAL commander from Montana, keeps changing his position on climate change. Initially in favor of climate protection, he later denied it even exists. At his confirmation hearing he told Senate, "I don't believe it's a hoax." As head of the Interior Department, he would oversee about a fifth of all US land - and make decisions about coal mining, and drilling for oil and gas.